Changing Seasons
by FufuuDesu
Summary: Kazuma's usual teasing makes him realize something important in a turn of events: Ayano's love. Reversing a mistake is always easier than making it. Can he melt Ayano's cold exterior once he causes it to harden?
1. Blunders

**Author's note:**

_This fanfiction is DISCLAIMED. I don't own Kaze No Stigma. Rights to the characters and such belong to Takahiro Yamato, the creator of this series. I'd like to express my thanks for his making the series. Although Mr. Yamato isn't here with us anymore, his work remains unforgotten. May he rest in peace._

_Another fanfiction in a long time!_

_I've missed the feeling of submitting some complete manuscripts. (Stares at the 12 remaining incomplete drafts in my Doc Manager... -derpderp-)_

_This story started out being your usual fluff fic, but it quickly morphed into something else. I don't know where the plot is going yet, but that's a fun part of writing, spinning pieces of plots into a full-fledged story, just taking a step at a time. I'll be updating this story pretty quickly, so please stay tuned for the next chapters as well!_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it._

_xxFufuuDesu :)_

* * *

Chapter One: Blunders

This was not what Ayano Kannagi wanted to be doing.

"ARGHHH! I'm going to KILL Ren!" The skilled Enjutsushi yelled out in exasperation. With a comb in one hand, she was in a fierce battle with her long crimson hair.

A group of maids sweeping the floor passed by. One stopped and nudged the other, "Pssst... Why is Master Ayano so upset?" The other maid glanced at Ayano over her shoulder, motioned for the other to keep on walking. Once making sure that they were far enough from Ayano, the second maid chuckled. "She got gum stuck in her hair!"

"Ehhh? How? Does Master Ayano even chew gum?" The first asked back, eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know, but all I know is that Master Ren was chewing some gum!"

Meanwhile, Kazuma heard the maids talking about Ayano. He smirked. To him, there was nothing more fun than seeing Ayano annoyed. It presented an opportunity for him to irk her further, and that was more interesting than chasing after random youma hands down.

Raking a hand through his hair casually, he walked up to Ayano, who was perched on the porch railing. "So, I see that you're in quite a sticky situation, Ayano." Kazuma stated smugly. The maids saw what was going on and quickly made their exit. Situations like this usually involved Ayano running after Kazuma with Enraiha firmly nestled in her hands, and of course a mad girl with a sword of flame was not very safe to be around.

Ayano looked up and stopped trying to comb the gum out of her hair. Seeing Kazuma with that smirk of his, she wanted to punch him in the face. Wasn't she annoyed enough? She absolutely did _not_ want to be even more annoyed than she already was.

She glared at him, trying to tell him to get the hell away from her. As usual, Kazuma ignored her wishes and walked closer to her.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" She yelled, setting one hand on the railing for support, and with the other pointing the comb at him. Kazuma immediately moved away from her a little out of his sharp reflexes.

"Whoa there princess, what's wrong?" Kazuma asked, feigning a look of sadness. "You're more violent than usual today, what happened?"

Ayano crossed her arms. She couldn't figure him out. She knew that Kazuma knew very well that she wouldn't take his taunts and teasing well, and even more frustrating was the fact that she still didn't know why he continued to tease her. After all the times her self-control failed which resulted in her attempting to slice him with her beloved Enraiha to shut him up, one would think that he would learn to not bother her anymore! _Well it's_ _Kazuma_, she thought smugly.

"Well if you must know, YOUR BROTHER GOT GUM IN MY HAIR AND NOW I CAN'T GET IT OUT!" Ayano tried to tell him with a smooth voice. As usal, she couldn't help but to yell in that jerk's face. Kazuma stopped her fuming when he took her comb away from her.

Kazuma then plopped down next to her on the porch railing, and took the wad of entangled gum and hair into his hand. He then held it up to his face for a closer look. Ayano hadn't expected _this_! She shivered from their closeness.

"H-Hey now, quit sniffing my hair!" she said, her voice quivering. Kazuma studied her, head tilted slightly to the left.

"Is the princess getting nervous?" He asked, poking her cheek. UGH! That was it. No matter how much Ayano loved Kazuma, she couldn't put up with his taunting.

"Y-YOU!" She yelled, narrowing her eyes at Kazuma.

He aimed an angelic smile back at her. "Yes?"

"STOP THAT!"

"Stop what?"

"_THAT!_"

He patted her head fondly. "Silly Ayano. How do you expect me to read your mind? You must tell me what you want me to stop doing. Yelling at me _STOP THAT! STOP THAT!_ makes a simpleton like me confused."

Ayano groaned in exasperation. "Urgh. Forget it." She quickly nabbed the comb out of his hands. Once the comb was in her hands, she quickly turned away from him and started trying to coerce the gum out of her hair again.

Kazuma smirked once more. He had accomplished what he had set out to do, and that made him feel ridiculously happy. Now it was time to make her happy again. He loved how her feelings were so easily influenced by whatever he did or said. It was fun to make her agitated, but surely it was the best when she was happy. When Ayano is happy, he would be happy too. Her sunshine-and-rainbows filled smile could always cause his mood to brighten.

"Hey, I'm sorry." He said, laying a hand on her shoulder. Ayano jumped at his touch. Her ears must be deceiving her. When did Kazuma started apologizing? Kazuma never apologizes, especially to her. In spite of her amazement, her pride kept her from yielding to his advances just because he apologized.

"Go away." she half-whined.

"Hey how about this? I'll help you get that gum out of your hair and you forgive me." He offered, taking hold of a piece of her hair again.

Ayano snapped at that. "GEEZ WILL YOU STOP TOUCHING MY HAIR? IT'S LIKE YOU HAVE A HAIR FETISH OR SOMETHING! Gross!" She hollered at him.

Kazuma smiled to himself. He always got his way. Her back was no longer to his face, and he had her attention once more.

He looked innocently at her. "I do have a hair fetish. But only for your hair." He stroked her hair like it was some kind of pet. "Look at how cool it is! How could you NOT have a fetish for it? It's red, soft, and shiny!"

She shook her head. Sometimes Kazuma was impossible. "Are you saying that I should be in love with my own hair?" She asked him, fully sure that he was either crazy or insane. Maybe he was both.

"Why not?" He retorted, a glint of mischievousness twinkling in his eyes. He then grabbed the comb from her hand once more. "Thank you very much, my dear." Kazuma thanked her and then began to untangle her hair.

Ayano was silenced by this gesture. A fuzzy feeling of joy bloomed in her chest immediately.

She turned away from him. _What was with Kazuma today?_ She thought. With him acting in the way he was acting, her head spun.

She kept on jumping to conclusions. Her heart couldn't stop telling her that he liked her. Not as a friend, no. He made her wonder deep inside if he loved her. However much Ayano wanted that to be true, her clear mind knew that it couldn't be true. How many times would she have to see evidence for his love and never-dying devotion to his ex-girlfriend Tsui Ling before her heart would finally understand that mutual love was impossible for them? Even if he did love her, Ayano didn't want to be a second choice.

Her pride wouldn't allow for it. Her heart wouldn't either.

She had always pitied the girls in mangas who would settle for being second choice or wait forever for the guy to like them back._ But isn't that what I'm doing now? Here I am, longing for Kazuma to love me as I love him, but he never will. Tsui Ling was his one and only. I am just a friend. _Ayano thought bitterly, _Just a friend._

Before she knew it, her vision blurred and she felt wetness on the back of her hand. Dark circles appeared against the light wooden railings. She clenched the hem of her dress hard. Gritting down on her teeth, she thought, _I'm so pathetic! What am I crying for?_

Kazuma tensed. Ayano was trembling. It wasn't a slight tremble either. It was a full on rumble, like one before a volcano erupted. He knew her well enough to know what that meant.

She was crying.

He quickly spun her around to face him. One glance at her teary face made a bolt of hurt course through him. Ayano looked into his eyes, panic-stricken.

Ayano sniffled and quickly jumped off the railing. She then ran as fast as she could away from him, to nowhere in particular. Her legs couldn't bring her away from him fast enough. She could hear his footsteps hot on her trail, catching up to her even. She knew that he would catch up to her eventually. After months of running with him to fight Youma, she had come to admit that he ran faster than her. He obviously wasn't going to let her escape so Ayano took the second best option. A good offense is the best defence after all...

"_Come forth, Enraiha!_" Ayano yelled, clapping her hands together. Her trustworthy sword of fire bursted into being and Ayano grabbed onto it tightly. She whirled around and pointed the flaming sword at Kazuma.

Kazuma discreetly set up a wind barrier around him but otherwise made no actions. They stood there, eye to eye. A stray tear dribbled down Ayano's chin and she wiped it away at once.

"Ayano... Why were you crying back there? I mean, why are you crying in general?" He said, finally breaking the silence.

"It's none of your business!" She hollered at him, still pointing her Enraiha in his direction.

"Ayano, you should calm down."

Ayano couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Calm down?_ Did Kazuma just tell her to_ calm down?_ Well of course it was easy for him to tell her to calm down! Was _he_ the one having unrequited love? No. So what right did he had in telling her to calm down? Besides, it wasn't her fault that he was so damn dense. Ayano charged at him, and began hacking at his wind shield.

Kazuma just fended off her blows. He didn't know what to do besides just that.

"What do you mean calm down?" The fire sizzled against his wind barrier. The tears were coming back again. "YOU BASTARD! I love you!" Ayano yelled, sending a blow at Kazuma. "How am I supposed to calm down?" Her blows were less and less intense now. "I-I love you, but you don't. You're still in love with Tsui Ling. Yet you still tease me, talk to me, and make me love you even more with each passing second. Stop playing around with my heart!" By now Enraiha dragged along the floor, and Ayano had collapsed into tears again. However, she made no effort to hide her tears this time around.

Kazuma was shocked. He had known about Ayano's feelings for him for a long time, but he dismissed it as a silly infatuation. He had thought that she would move on to other guys easily, guys who were more her age. Guys would would have more in common with her and offer her more. However, it seemed that he had underestimated how much she loved him. He lowered his head slowly. There was no doubt that Ayano was important to him, but what about Tsui Ling?

He could never forget about Tsui Ling. When he first got exiled from the Kannagi family, Tsui Ling saved him. Without meeting Tsui Ling he would have surely died somewhere after giving up on his life altogether. It was Tsui Ling who taught him that there's strength in oneself.

So he slowly met Ayano's red and puffy eyes.

"Ayano..." He started, walking closer to her. "Ayano I can't return your fe-"

She cupped her hand over his mouth and smiled feebly. Somehow without him realizing it, Ayano had snuck up closer to Kazuma. "I knew that your answer would be so." She admitted quietly. Then she kneeled, picked up Enraiha and started walking away for the second time in the day. Enriha slowly disappeared into thin air as she kept walking further and further away from Kazuma.

Kazuma felt like going after her and telling her to never leave him, but he knew that it would be brutal to her. He had never thought of his teasing her as "playing with her feelings" but now he realized that it was indeed what he was doing. The thing was, he didn't know why he loved to tease her and be around her so much himself. He never gave much thought to it. It just came naturally, as if he was put on this earth just to tease her.

He raised his palm to the sun and looked at it idly. The sun's rays outlined his hand and he welcomed the burn of the sharp sun as it hit his eyes.

Did he love her? He wasn't sure if he did or not. Could he ever approach Ayano again even _if_ he was in love with her? The truth was he didn't know the answer to that either.

"Kazuma, you are such a jerk" he said to himself, chuckling.

* * *

Ayano couldn't stop crying. Why did she confess to Kazuma? _Why?_ She knew that he wasn't going to return her feelings so why did she do it? Her sobs resounded back to her ears and even her pride couldn't prevent her from stop making those awful sounds.

She ran back to the house, clearing her vision once in a while. She hoped that she wouldn't come across people because she was in no mood to explain why she was so upset. Life always being against her wishes, Ren appeared before her. His expression turned from nonchalant to concerned in a matter of seconds.

Ren ran up to her quickly.

"Ayano Nee-chan, what's wrong?" Ren asked. Ayano didn't say a word and hugged Ren as tightly as she could.

"W-what's wrong?" Ren stammered once more.

He was thoroughly confused.

A while ago Ayano was angry at him for getting gum in her hair but now she was not angry, but extremely sad. Her face was smeared with tears and her usually spotless dress was dirty and ripped in some places.

"I told your brother that I loved him" Ayano mumbled against Ren's shoulder, "He said that h-he couldn't-" Ayano sobbed into Ren's shoulder at the painful memory.

Ren's eyes widened. He patted Ayano's back and attempted to soothe her. "I'm so sorry Nee-chan!" Ayano nodded.

"C-can I stay like this for a while?"

"Sure," Ren said, rubbing her back.

Ayano closed her eyes and breathed. Recently she hadn't had any time to truly slow down and just breathe._ In, Out. In, Out._ Focusing on that one little sequence of tasks filled her with the wonderful feeling that you get by walking down a familiar road that you haven't walked down in a while. Kazuma. She recalled her memories of him. One at a time until the memories flowed over her in waves of millions of memories per second, overwhelming her entire being with the thought of him. Him meeting her for the first time, his first smile directed at her, his smirks, his agony over meeting Tsui Ling again, him, Him, HIM. Over and over again. She realized that her heart felt lighter; the weight of a secret kept inside for too long off her chest.

Slowly, her heartbreak numbed out, being replaced by a sense of loss. There was no way that she and Kazuma could ever return to being friends.

In spite of the realization, Ayano slowly began to feel better. The soothing sound of her heartbeat somehow made her lessened the intense feelings of loss and heartbreak. It was as if her own heart was telling her, assuring her even, that she could move on from Kazuma. Perhaps her heart was in extreme pain, but it wasn't broken yet. It wasn't ready to break just yet. She deserved happiness, even if it seemed far away and impossible at that time. She stepped out of Ren's embrace, ready to face the world again.

"Thanks Ren," She told him, her gaze wandering and floating off to nowhere in particular, "Thanks for everything."

"Are you okay Ayano?" Ren asked, concern in his voice. He looked up at his older cousin, worrying that she might not be okay. She looked down at Ren. Her tears had made abstract patterns against his shirt, since it had dampened some parts faster than others.

"I'm not okay. But I'll be with okay with time. After all, there's more fish in the ocean right?" Ayano answered, trying to smile again, but her muscles suddenly had forgotten how to. Ren grinned anyways.

"That's the spirit!"

"Bye Ren! I'll see you at dinnertime!" Ayano called back at Ren, forcing a smile which wasn't too successful either. She sprinted to her house, turning at the door frame of the main entrance to bid the Fire Spirit a good day. She then ran upstairs to the safety of her room as fast as she could.

As soon as Ayano was in her room, she shut the doors and sat down on her futon. She sighed. What was she going to do now? Moping around wasn't a good choice, and certainly she didn't feel up to doing anything that required her to be in a good mood. She grabbed her laptop and flipped open the screen. She then came face to face with the login screen. The cursor blinked in the password blank. It took a second for her brain to make the connection between everything, but once she realized her mistake of opening her laptop, it was already too late.

The tears came again.

Those blasted tears! Her password was _Kazuma_. His name. Such a simple password that meant everything to her. Registering that single word in her brain made the intensity of her unreturned feelings explode back in her face. She cursed at herself and then casted her laptop aside.

Was it just her fate that whenever she thought she had recovered a little, she would be instantly be reminded of Kazuma yet again? She punched the wall. She felt nothing. She punched it again. Still nothing. She then let out all her feelings on the poor wall, punching it until there was indentations, cracks, and bloody smears all over the wall. A would-be reminder of her harsh treatment to the wall for a long time.

She leaned against her fist, which was still against the wall. The stinging on her knuckles felt minuscule, unrequited love made her hurt more. Pressing her forehead to the wall, Ayayno felt a sharp contrast from the cool wall and her warm forehead.

The motion cleared her head a little.

_I can't stay like this. Hurting myself and not getting anything done. _Ayano thought, wiping her face. She was surprised to feel that her tears had already dried. A smile, a real one, graced her face, which in turn caused her determination to kick in.

Her determination, always one of her most vibrant and useful feelings, caused her to straighten her back into the correct posture she usually stood in.

_Forget Kazuma,_ she thought to herself with a strange matter-of-factness, _He took advantage of you._

_At first, it was truly all business, but soon Kazuma had found a young maiden to prey on. Even when he knew that he loved someone else, he didn't stop teasing you and making passes at your heart. So then you fell in love with him. At first, it was just a crush. A young girl's crush that made you tremble when he was close, and made your heart pound like no tomorrow. After some time, the crush qualities remained but you had developed something deeper for Kazuma._

_Love. It was love._

_You loved him so much that it made you happy to see him meet the one that he really loves, even though your own heart was breaking into a million pieces. You even suggested that he should go after her when he could. When that Tsui Ling told him that she hated him, it was YOU that held him near you, stroked his hear, and listened to his story. After all the things you did for him, he still doesn't see goodness in you. So that is why you should forget him. Forget everything that jerk meant to you. From now on, Kazuma is merely just a business associate._

So just like that Ayano had spun up a story to ease the pain.

* * *

_Preview of __Chapter Two: Twists_

_"Don't fight against me Ayano, I'm not your enemy. The youma are."_

* * *

Chapter One- Done. 5/6/12 7:46PM.

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Or just leave a comment C:


	2. Twists

**Author's Note:**

_This story is once again, DISCLAIMED. I don't own Kaze No Stigma!_

Hai guys. I can't apologize enough for how slow I have put up this chapter (and after all I had said in the first one about being quick to update and all -_-)

Better sooner or later right? :3

Enjoy~

* * *

**_Chapter Two: Twists_**

Ayano turned over in her bed yet again.

All night she had been fighting a constant battle with sleep, not being able to sleep a wink. She punched her difficult pillow in a futile attempt to make it more comfortable. The pillow that usually felt fluffy and supportive felt flat and hard. Her bed couldn't make her melt into it like always either.  
She sighed and silence soon enveloped that tiny sound.

The silence kept her thinking.

Thinking was the last thing that she wanted to do but she couldn't help the thoughts flooding her brain. Her body might be exhausted, but her brain was still strangely sharp and working. Tomorrow would be a new day.  
Another day of probably fighting youma with Kazuma, since youma were popping up more and more often. Ayano busied herself with thinking about the growth of youma numbers in the city.

_ I've been feeling a build-up of disturbance in the city lately, especially near the water,_ she thought. _Father says the Youma levels are normal, but I know that something is just off. I swear, that old geezer is getting old and senile. _Calling her father the offending phrase drew a unexpected smile across Ayano's face.

Soon strange thoughts started forming in her head as she grew increasingly sleepy. Ayano even began to have random snippets of Nanase and Yukari in obscene outfits show up in her imagination.

Occupying her mind with these thoughts kept her up all night. Before she knew it she heard her cell phone blare out her morning alarm. The familiar upbeat melody did nothing to improve her mood, but she got up anyways.

Her head felt heavy and foggy, and she had a strange taste in her mouth. Her first all-nighter not forced by her duty to the clan made Ayano feel like crap. She rubbed her eyes and found them encrusted by dry tears. After muttering some explicitives, Ayano tried to make herself feel a bit more awake by continuing with her morning routine. She ran the shower until it was hot and jumped in.

After her shower she felt significantly better, but still dull and floppy like a spaghetti strand boiled too long. Her usual sharp reflexes were gone, but she decided that it was good enough to be awake. She then threw on some random clothes, not caring if her shirt was wrinkly from being stuffed into the drawers or if her skirt bore remnants of a soy sauce stain too stubborn to come out in the wash.

Carefully avoiding the spots on the floor that creaked when walked on, she made her way to the staircase in the hallway.

Ayano's senses were not as keen as they usually would be in the morning, and she tripped over a potted plant. _Damn,_ she thought, _those are cuttings of Father's favorite plant... He's going to kill me! _She quickly shook off the dirt on her foot to attempt to hide the evidence.

She then descended down the stairs, greeted by a strange sight.

Illuminated by the faint glow of the morning light Kazuma sat alone at the Kannagi dining table a bowl of cereal untouched next to him. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, unfocused eyes falling to a dark corner of the room. His eyes then flew towards her, barely visible in the shield of the darkness on the foot of the mahogany stairs. It seemed peculiar to Ayano how he had realized she was there when she was certain she had made no noise to indicate her arrival. Years of training had ensured that a long time ago.

"Ayano..." Kazuma started, boring his eyes into hers across the room. Ayano suddenly felt stiff, unable to move as if she were a statue. All she could do was stand there and listen to her name on his lips fade as the clock ticked time by.

"Ayano let's talk."

That shook her out of her trance. She regarded him coldly, not willing to get hurt again. "What is there for us to talk about?"

"About your feelings towards me."

"I have none towards you. Don't let your ego get a hold of yourself Kazuma!" She snorted at him, flicking her hair over her shoulders, as if she was bored with the conversation already.

"Well yesterday you told me yourself that you loved me. In all seriousness let's talk." Kazuma replied evenly.

"Note the past tense in that sentence. I loved you. That was yesterday, and today is a new day. And oh, _NEWS FLASH_ KAZUMA, you clearly didn't return my feelings, so I gave up on you. I mean really, how dense can you be? Seriously! Everyone else knows already, even my father! That old geezer is too nosy for his own good but still, how could you not see it when it's- " She ran out of breath after spewing out a flurry of complaints towards Kazuma.

"Let me inform you Kannagi-_san_, you tore my heart out, threw it onto the floor, and stomped all over it with those 'sacred Contractor' feet of yours. So no, I don't want to talk with you."

Ayano's chest rose up and down, the easily angered side of her appeared again. It was the only way to prevent the tears that were warm behind her eyes from falling. _I'm not weak. I won't let him see me cry._ She told herself with great determination.

With that thought deeply embedded into Ayano's mind, she left the room hurriedly.

Kazuma looked to Ayano leaving with sad eyes. He knew that he just lost perhaps the only person on the Earth who sincerely cared for him, loved him, and perhaps even trusted him. She even started using honorifics with him instead of the usual homei* they used with each other.

There was something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on either.

A deep throbbing pain in his body seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The pain didn't feel like how he felt after being injured after a not-so-successful fight either. It was more dull, yet it hurt nonetheless.

It wasn't the feeling of losing someone he cared about like a family member; it was how he felt for years after losing Tsui-Ling.

_No, it cannot be. I am not in love with Ayano. It must be the lack of sleep, making me come to these false conclusions. _Kazuma kneaded his fingers through his hair in exasperation, distracting himself, so he prevented himself from thinking.

Without his busy thoughts keeping him awake, the soothing noises of early morning lulled him into a deep sleep.

* * *

_*Note: Homei is when people in Japan don't use an honorific with each other, which is a sign that the two people are extremely close to each other._

* * *

"Yukari-" Ayano said into her cell phone, back onto the bed that couldn't make her sleepy again.

Her friend replied groggily, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Yukari, read the caller ID, I'm Ayano."

"Ayano? Why are you calling at this hour?" Her friend's inherent surprise could be heard.

"Yukari... I told Kazuma... A-and... I got rejected." Ayano smiled weakly.

There was a gasp, and then brief silence. "Good thing you called me girl. I bet you're like... All down and gloomy right now. Don't be so sad-sounding, it kinda makes me want to cry too. But hey, y'know, good for you! I mean like, you've been pining after him for like... Forever. Hey, why don't we go get a few drinks and eat some good food? Maybe it'll take your mind off that good-for-nothing! Besides, I kinda need your opinion on a new dress I've been eyeing. It's totally gorgeous, but the price tag is just so... ICKY. The neckline is totally hot; it's not too low so that it screams 'I am a slut,' but it just shows the right amount of cleavage. It totally makes me look smokin'! Anyways you should help me decide if I should splurge or not!" The blonde chattered on endlessly.

"Yuks, can you put Nanase on the other line?" Ayano finally interrupted her friend's steady stream of words.

"Oh, sure, hold on!"

_Beep. Beeeeeeeeep. Beep._

"What's up Yuks? How are you even awake at this hour?" A steady voice said.

Ayano sighed. In their close-knit friendship, Ayano was the flame, getting angry enough for all three of them. Yukari was the chatterbox, and Nanase was the rock that kept Yukari and Ayano from going berserk. Just hearing Nanase's voice made Ayano feel calmer by the second.

"I know darling, aren't you proud of me? Today's not about me though. Ayano has a love 911!" Yukari replied immediately.

"Why so chippperrrrrr..." Ayano groaned into her phone.

"Aya-chan, you know she's just like that. Besides, what's that love emergency Yuks was talking about? What did Kazuma-kun do _this_ time?" Nanase inquired.

A melodramatic Ayano quickly put in, "Yuks can you tell Nana-chan? My heart might die if I tell the story again."

"So like, here's the gist of it: Aya-chan told Kazuma-kun how much she loved him and Kazuma-kun said he didn't feel the same way. Nana-chan, don't you think we should go out for drinks and yummy food? It totally helps, I swear. Beer and takoyaki* all night long helped me get over Tadase-kun!"

"Yuks, quit pushing your glutinous habits onto Aya-chan. Besides, it's not so simple with Kakuma-kun. It's not like Aya-chan can just go off and never see Kazuma-kun again like you and Tadase-kun. She still has to fight youma with him and keep a straight face in front of him and others for the sake of work. It's going to be so painful for her! But meeting up is an idea I can't reject. Free your schedules ladies, it's Girls' Day Out!" Nanase said, her voice rising to excitement.

"YAY! You guys have got to help me decide about the expensive dress though. I totally want to get it but it's so damn expensive! So then I was like 'lemme ask Nana-chan and Aya-chan for help!' I hope that we wi-" Yukari started again.

"_Yuks!_" Ayano and Nanase both yelled at the same time. Yukari then giggled happily.

"Okay okay, I'll shut up after you tell me when and where we're meeting~"

"How about... 7 at the train station?" Ayano suggested.

"Which place though?" The always sensible Nanase asked.

Yukari quickly chimed in, "Bottom of staircase twooooo~ That place is like the most cleanest and prettiest. Besides, it's where we-"

"Always meet for school!" The three of them yelled in unison. Laughter then followed.

"Okay guys, talk to you later!" Nanase said, the first one to hang up.

"Laters Aya-chan~ I have to pick out my outfit now or else I won't have enough time to!"

"Mhm, Bye!" Ayano replied emptily, although there was no need because no one was on the line anymore. She plopped her phone onto her bed and redressed into better clothes. A soy-sauce shirt was going to get her chastised by Yukari for sure.

Settling on a simple outfit of jean cutoffs and a graphic tee, Ayano quickly changed. She then glanced at the time. _6:28AM. Perfect! _Ayano thought.

She then threw some essentials into a crossbody bag and flew down the stairs. Not bothering to glance at Kazuma passed out on the dining table, Ayano rushed out the door.

* * *

_*Note- Takoyaki is a Japanese snack, crisped up balls with octopus inside._

* * *

A warm wind greeted her as soon as she stepped outside. Spring was slowly but surely making the transition into summer; the sun was shining more intense each passing day. Ayano loved lazy summer mornings. It was cool enough so she didn't feel like she was being cooked in an oven, but yet warm enough to give everything a carefree easygoing vibe.

_It's going to be a nice day today, _Ayano noted while walking at a swift pace.

Soon she was at the train station. She whipped out her fare card and swiped in. While rushing to their usual meeting place, she bumped headfirst with someone rushing somewhere. His books dropped everywhere, and papers were spread all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Ayano quickly apologized. She then dropped down to help him collect his belongings. When she had gathered a handful of papers and books, and he had too, they both stood up and bumped into each other again.

"Ow!" Ayano said on impulse, rubbing her head where she had collided with his chin. The stranger laughed a strong, hearty laugh._  
_

"It seems that we were meant to literally '_bump into each other_' today!" He noted, very amused.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir!" Ayano apologized. She straightened up, getting a good look at the stranger.

He was handsome, not in Kazuma's mysterious way, but in a more carefree boyish way. His tousled chestnut hair made him seem easygoing and fun. He had a beautiful wide smile, and amber eyes glittering with amusement. Now that Ayano had straightened up, she realized how tall he was. He was a good head taller than her, even with her in high heels.

"So are you done looking yet?"

Ayano quickly took her eyes off him, "W-what?"

He laughed again. "Ahhh, you're pretty interesting!"

Ayano shoved his books and papers back into his arms, and then turned around to go. He grasped her wrist, making her stop. "Is that how you treat someone you just bumped into? That's not very polite is it!"

She shook herself free from his grasp and turned to face him once again. "Sir, I'm sorry about bumping in to you, but I've got places to be and so do you. So please, stop wasting my time and yours, and let me go." She told him bluntly.

"The name's Katsu. What's yours?" He asked, not letting himself be shaken off.

"None of your business." Ayano replied, icily. She then ran down the second staircase to escape the weird stranger.

Nanase and Yukari were already chatting there. Ayano smiled, glad to see people that would make her life less instead of more complicated for once.

"Nana-chan! Yuks!" Ayano yelled. Nanase and Yukari looked around to see where Ayano's voice was, and then once they located her, they waved at her.

"Heyyyyyy Aya-chan!" Yukari greeted Ayano in a perky voice.

"Aya-chan, you're late, _again_!" Nanase scolded her lightly.

"I'm so sorry! The thing was I bumped into this weird dude who was all weird and wouldn't let me go. He was all like 'My name is Katsu, what's yours?' Ugh. He was so annoying!" Ayano complained.

"Oooohhhh, You've found a new hottie to fawn over already?" Yukari squealed.

"No! What are you talking about?" Ayano rebuked, her cheeks flaming.

"She's blushing! Ayano, spill the beans and tell us already- is he good looking?" Nanase said, poking Ayano's rosy cheeks. "YEAH YEAH! Tell us!" Yukari chimed in.

"Welll... He's cute I guess." Ayano admitted. Nanase and Yukari cheered and whooped.

Just then, the train arrived.

"Let's go downtown!" Yukari yelled, trying to make her voice louder than the approaching train.

"Okay!" Ayano and Nanse answered in unison.

The train door opened an the trio stepped in. A blast of cool air conditioning hit Ayano, making her feel refreshed. Nanase gestured to the row of empty seats, and the three of them sat down. Yukari immediately leaned in to the other two on her right.

"Okay so guys, today we have got to check out that dress. I have to decide to splurge or not!" she said, eyes glittering.

"Yuks, knowing you, you're probably going to buy it no matter what we say!" Nanase teased, shaking her head with a small smile. "Anyways, let's make a pit stop at the library. I need to return some books really quick." She added on.

"Sure thing Nana-chan!" Yukari approved. "No problem. Let's stop by the library downtown." Ayano consecutively voiced her consent.

Soon it was stime for them to get off.

Yukari groaned. "Ughhh, I don't want to leave! The AC feels like HEAVENN~"

"Well then I suppose me and Nana-chan will leave and you can stay here and have fun!" Ayano joked, shooting a smile Yukari's way.

Yukari widened her eyes and then quickly said, "No way! I have places to be and fun to enjoy!"

Ayano and Nanase laughed. All three of them then stood up and left the train.

"To the Library!" Yukari exclaimed, leading the way up the stairs. Ayano and Nanase trailed after her, making their way up the stairs too.

It was a swift walk to the local library, and once they got there they each flew to their respective sections. Ayano made a beeline for manga, Yukari for self improvement, and Nanase lined up to return her books.

Ayano was just flipping through a few pages in the new volume of the action manga she was reading wuth she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned away from her manga, and gaped. A familiar smile and enthralling honey-colored eyes greeted her for the second time that day.

It was the stranger from the subway station.

"Hey stranger, you never told me what your name was!" he exclaimed to her. Ayano ignored him, still scanning the pages of her manga.

"HEY! Don't just ignore me!" Ayano flipped the page and kept reading.

The stranger snatched the manga away from Ayano and closed it shut.

"Hey! You made me lose my page!" Ayano complained, reaching out for her manga. Katsu held it up above his head, where Ayano couldn't get it, and then gave her a challenging smile. It made Ayano want to summon Enraiha and run him through her beloved sword like he was butter.

However, killing a person in a library would get her jailed for sure, so Ayano gritted her teeth and held back her violent urge.

"Why should I tell my name to a stranger? Besides... Why are you here anyways?" Ayano retorted through narrowed eyes.

"I'm here because all those books you made me drop on the floor were overdue and I had to get them here. Besides, out of courtesy don't you think you should tell me your name because I already told you mine?"

"Obviously I don't think so, because I sure as hell won't tell you my name!" Ayano yelled at him, thoroughly annoyed.

The librarian to the left of then putting books on bookshelves turned and shushed Ayano sharply. "Miss, this is a library. Keep your voice down please."

"Sorry, this won't happen again!" Ayano apologized. She then turned to Katsu with a murderous stare.

Katsu beamed, whispering to her, "Ooooo~ Guilty as charged!"

"Well guess what? It's all your fault!" She hissed back at him, pointing a finger his way as if accusing him of a crime.

Katsu chuckled quietly. "Ahhh, sorry."

"At least you have the decency to say sorry... It's okay. I guess I can forgive you." Ayano replied, keeping her voice as low as possible.

"Ayano~ We're ready to go now!" Yukari informed her friend in a floaty voice. Upon seeing Katsu, Yukari widened her eyes and turned to Ayano.

"Ooo~ Ayano, who's this?" She whispered to Ayano, raising an eyebrow.

"THIS IS THE ANNOYING DUDE FROM THE TRAIN STATION. THE ONE I BUMPED INTO BY A STROKE OF BAD LUCK." Ayano said, glaring at Katsu again.

Katsu shot back an even bigger smile.

_God I just want to slash his annoying smile off his face_, Ayano thought. Apparently her friend had different thoughts.

Yukari turned to Katsu with her most cloying, sickly sweet voice, and sugared him up. "Oh, so you're the guy from the subway! I've heard a lot about you from this girl here."

Katsu turned to Yukari eagerly. "Oh really? Wait... Heard a lot about me from _her_? I bet it's nothing good then."

Yukari laughed, touching him lightly with a hand on his forearm. "Nah, it wasn't all bad. Well, we've got to go, so maybe we'll _bump into you_ later?" Yukari told Katsu with a wink.

_Oh god. Another one of Yuks' terrible puns._ Ayano thought, rolling her eyes.

Katsu just laughed and bade them goodbye.

Ayano walked briskly towards Nanase, wanting to get away from the sickening duo.

Yukari took the chance to slip a paper to Katsu. "Use this information well my friend~" She advised Katsu with a wink. Katsu unfolded the paper and smiled back.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Who was that you guys were talking to?" Nanase asked once Ayano had reached her.

"It was Katsu, the stranger who I bumped into in the subway and wants to irk me with every chance he gets!" Ayano told her friend huffily.

Just then, Yukari approached Nanase and Ayano too, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips.

"Ohmigosh! Katsu was soooooo hoooot! Why did you not tell me that 'stranger' was such a damn fine piece of man-meat?" Yukari asked Ayano.

"Because not only did I found him to be as unhot as a frozen river in Antarctica, I also found him worthy of being slashed open by my Enraiha." Ayano proclaimed in an ominous tone. Yukari and Nanase just sweatdropped.

"Well let's talk about Katsu while we walk to the amusement park because we sure won't get there if all we do is stand here and gossip!" Nanase finally said, gesturing to the door. The other two agreed, so the trio was on their way again.

They were barely two steps out the library when Yukari brought up the topic of Katsu again. "Katsu was so friendly and nice! I don't understand why you dislike him so much, Aya-chan. I mean... Running him through Enraiha's a bit extreme for a person you've talked to only twice, don't you think?"

"Well I've talked to him enough to know that he is an annoying brat that reminds me too much of Kazuma." Ayano said matter-of-factly. The K-word propelled them all into temporary silence.

"Awww, honey, forget about Kazuma. We're going to the amusement park, which means you're going to get amused!" Yukari tried to comfort Ayano.

Ayano and Nanase groaned. "Another horrible pun Yuks?" Nanase asked rhetorically.

Yukari shot back as chipper as ever, "Of course!"

Ayano laughed. "Trust Yuks to never know what a rhetorical question is!" she stated. Nanse readily agreed.

Yukari faked a pout. "Hey!"

The three of them then all bursted into laughter.

Soon the familiar tall landscape of rollercoaters, rides, and vendors were in front of them.

"We're here!" Yukari squealed happily, getting out her wallet. Nanse and Ayano both reached for theirs as well.

The pleasant amusement park order gave them their tickets after they had paid their money and wished them a swell time at the park. The trio then lined up to the entrance and flung their bags in plastic bins to be scanned and checked for possible security threats. When they inserted their tickets into the machines and then reclaimed their clearance cleared bags, they were all set to do whatever they wished.

Yukari immediately ran ahead of the other two towards the center square of the amusement park.

The center square was a place of bustling activity, because it was where all the vendors and games were. The smell of warm buttery popcorn, meat sizzling on griddles, and sweet desserts being sliced made the place smell mouth-watering. The sound of kids squealing, crying, and yelling was everywhere, along with laughter and loud talking. Everywhere people were eating, drinking, and having a good time. It was hard for Ayano to not want to be a part of it all, so she gave into her wants.

She ran after Yukari towards the nearest burger stand, with Nanase right behind her.

When the three of them were both on an insanely long line for "Fujimora's Famous Burgers," Yukari turned towards Ayano and Nanase with a smug smile.

"I heard from other people that the burgers here was to die for, so I've always wanted to try one!" She informed them.

"To die for or to stand out here in the longest line ever for?" Ayano asked, slightly grumbling.

"Both!" Yukari exclaimed with a toothy grin.

"Well at least this line is moving pretty fast." Nanase remarked.

The line was indeed moving fast; by the end of six short minutes the girls had already gotten their burgers ready to eat in bags. After looking for a while, they found a nice place to sit down and enjoy their meal.

Soon they were done with their food and ready to ride some rides.

"Let's go ride the Godspeed Rollercoaster!" Nanase suggested with plenty of excitement.

"YES!" Yukari cheered, starting to run to the rollercoaster already. Ayano turned to Nanase with a smile, and the two took off after Yukari as well.

The closer Ayano got to the rollercoaster, the more she felt something was off.

The Godspeed Rollercoaster usually was a very popular ride, sending people from all parts of the park towards it, but today it seemed many people were running _away_ from it. Besides that, she detected Youma in the direction of the ride, which never was good.

Ayano yelled to Nanase and Yukari, "Wait. I sense youma in that direction!"

Her two friends stiffened, knowing how dangerous youma were. They both knew that Ayano was going to lead them to safety and then go fight the youma herself, like she had done countless of times before.

"You guys, get away from this rollercoaster as much as possible. I'm going to go after the youma. I'll call you guys once the situation's stabilized. Don't come close to the rollercoaster until I call under any circumstances. Do you understand?" Ayano ordered her friends with urgency in her voice. Nanase and Yukari nodded and started running away from the rollercoaster like everyone else.

Once she saw her friends had safely fled, she ran as fast as she could towards the rollercoaster, calling out her fiery sword along the way. Usually Kazuma would be her, transporting them both to the location of the youma faster than she could ever run. He wasn't there, so she had to depend on her own strength. She pushed herself to run faster, praying she wasn't too late.

The youma felt young, but strong, absorbing energy at astronomic proportions. That could only mean it was feeding off the energy of the people in the amusement park, getting stronger at the expense of the powerless citizens. It would soon be stronger than Ayano would handle, but Ayano kept running towards it anyways.

Soon she felt a familiar flick of cool wind against her arm, and she turned back. True to her instincts, it was Kazuma.

He was immediately next to her, lifting her into his arms with poise and ease as if her struggling was nothing.

"Don't fight against me Ayano, I'm not your enemy. The youma are." He told her in a weary voice. His words shook reality into her, and she let him transport them to the site of the youma.

"Oooh, that's an ugly looking bastard." Kazuma said to no one in particular as they approached the monster. The monster was easily the size of a building, and the people who he gained his power from laid on the floor soulless.

"So princess, what's the plan?" Kazuma asked, utilizing the old nickname again. Ayano just scowled and let her instincts take over. She leaped out of his arms and jumped at the monster with her purifying flame.

Innocent people's lives were at stake, and she wasn't going to waste time arguing with Kazuma.

Kazuma smirked and went to work as well, sending strengthened gusts of wind through the monster and catching Ayano when she was at the end of her fall. Ayano then used him as a bounce off point, jumping into the monster again with her Enraiha pointed at it.

The problem was the monster's fast regeneration. She was getting more and more annoyed with it. No matter how fast she slashed it or how much power she used, its wounds would always close right back up, making the monster ready to pelt more balls of energy at Kazuma and her. Soon Kazuma caught her for the countless time and held her against him.

She was panting, sweaty, and ready to strike out again, but he wouldn't let her jump back at it.

"It's useless Ayano! No matter how many times you strike it will regenerate. We'll never kill it this way."

"Okay then. I'll distract." Ayano told him, hoping he would understand what she wanted to try out. She didn't want to say more to him than what she had to say.

Kazuma nodded, flinging her back at the monster. He then flew away a bit and closed his eyes.

Blue beads of energy built up around him as he called upon the Wind Spirit Lord for help.

Ayano slashed at the monster repeatedly, distracting him from Kazuma. Enraiha was damp from her sweat, which made it slippery, but Ayano just wiped it off and kept attacking.

As usual, the monster regenerated over and over again, watching Ayano with pitying beady small eyes. Ayano barely dodged from a slash aimed at her from the monster's mammoth claws. One blow on target from that was sure to kill Ayano for sure. Ayano knew that fact very well, but kept on hitting the monster with Enraiha.

Another regeneration and more energy balls to dodge. She glanced back at Kazuma. He didn't seem ready to hit the monster yet with his contractor powers. Ayano willed him to collect his powers faster, because she knew she was getting tired, and her lack of rest made her even slower to respond. At this rate she'd be hit by the monster for sure.

_C'mon Kazuma!_ she thought with desperation, _I want to live, and you better go hit this monster right about now! _She then felt the familiar feeling of intense power escalation behind her, so she gathered all her power together as well. He let go on an attack, and she did too, right afterwards. The sheer strength of both their powers combined flung her backwards, and an explosion temporarily blinded her with it's intense light.

She blinked against the flashes in her vision and realized it was Kazuma. He had caught her again.

"I can't see. Is it dead?" She demanded.

"Yes, it's dead. But now we have a lot of cleanup work to do, and we better do it fast. If the people come to seeing this it'll cause a huge scandal." He told her gently.

She tried to get up, but he made her lay back down against himself. "Rest princess. You can't do much being temporarily blind."

Ayano immediately started to protest, but he shushed her at once. She gave up on going against Kazuma; the adrenaline had worn off, and she was left feeling more tired than she had ever felt before. In a matter of moments, she was asleep in his arms.

* * *

Preview of **_Chapter Three: Uncanny_**

_"You know Katsu?" Ayano said, disbelief across her face._

_"You know Kazuma?" Katsu quipped back at her with just as much wonder as she had._

* * *

_Finished 9:38PM July 29, 2012. _

**Responses**** to Reviews:**

**blueskittlez**- Thank you for your input~ I'm sorry I made an unfulfilled promise x.x Hope this chapter can sort of make up for that! :3 **SuzieCat**- Here's an update your way, I'm glad you liked this~ **Cookie**- I always loved Ayano as a person for that as well. She's so STRONG! **Horsetreats**- Thank you for that compliment! It really means a lot! I think my writing has a lot of room to improve still~** yuuna masato**- Your hope is definitely a reality~ Let's see how the addition of other guys add to this jumble of drama shall we? :) **anabellag**- Really? Maybe I better rewatch that part then xD **ministop**- Thank you for your input! I have to work harder at making the characters more like the characters then! Thank you for your support! **Tina**- Thank you for reading~ Ayano's story is really heart-wrenching in this one, so I'm glad I was able to convery that~

_~Thank you for your support!~_**  
**

**Review please? :3**

**Constructive criticism helps me get better, so keep them coming! **


	3. Uncanny

**Chapter Three: Uncanny**

**Author's Note:** _I'm not even going to provide an excuse for my 6 month hiatus._

_That's not what you guys are here for is it? C:_

_Enjoy!_

_PRAISE THE LORD FOR HALF DAYS, that's all I have to say._

_Oh and thank you to errrybody for encouraging me! I LOVE YOU ALL!_

* * *

Ayano was awake.

The case of the morning fuzzies where upon her again, and in that split second she was unable to recall anything that had happened in the past few days. All the drama, heartbreak, and pain forgotten. All that was left was her and her better memories. She smiled, and tried to stay in that euphoria.

It didn't work.

Reality came crashing upon her like swift ocean waves against a dry shore. she remembered what had happened the day before, and she bolted out of bed. She had forgotten to do so much yesterday, lost in the black hole of a deep sleep. Snatching her phone off her bedside table, Ayano quickly dialed up Nanase and Yukari. She had promised to call them after it was safe and the youma was defeated, but she had fallen asleep and neglected her promise.

"Nana-chan! Yuks! I'm so sorry I didn't call you after the incident last night! I'm alright and the youma was purified yesterday."

Nanase was the first on to respond. "Hey Aya, glad to see you're up and running okay. Don't worry about last night, Kazuma called us. He told us what happened and about you falling asleep. So don't worry!"

"Uhn! Kazuma told us how you were exhausted after fighting the youma with him and falling asleep and stuff. To be honest Aya-chan, I don't think he's all that bad. I mean, he even brought you home and everything. He even remembered to call us! I think you two'd be a great match. I mean, Kazuma's all cool and calm and you can be his fiery prin-" Yukari chirped.

Ayano winced in reaction to her friend's words.

"Yuks, that's enough. Remember that Kazuma rejected Aya-chan! Really, how could you be so insensitive?" Nanase chastised the bubbly blonde, cutting her off.

"Whoops! Sorry Aya! I didn't mean it!" Yukari apologized at once.

Ayano smiled. She knew that Yukari didn't mean any harm. "It's okay Yuks. I know you mean well. Well guys, I have to go and eat breakfast now, so bye!"

"Breakfast?" Nanse echoed. "It's time for lunch Aya, look at the time!"

Ayano quickly glanced at the time on her phone. 11:38am. "Oh yeah!" She said, laughing at herself. "it is time for lunch!"

"Okay Aya, catch you later!" Yukari told her friend cheerfully.

"Bye Aya-chan!" Yukari said a moment later.

Ayano closed her phone after Nanase hung up, and bounced backwards onto her bed. She thought over some things carefully. _I wasn't wearing this last night when I was with Kazuma_, she recalled, fingering the hemline of her nightgown. _Could Kazuma have changed my clothes for me? _She wondered, starting to blush. Shaking her head rapidly, she scolded herself. _Impossible! What am I thinking?_

She then looked at her nightstand. The purse she wore yesterday was on the nightstand, but Ayano knew she didn't put it there. She got up and walked over to it and cradled it in her hand.

Knowing that Kazuma had touched the object she was holding made it special.

Just the she heard a knock. Ayano hastily flung the bag back onto the nightstand and checked to make sure she wasn't err... Exposing too much. After precautions were taken, she quickly ran to the door and slid it open. _Speak of the devil_... It was Kazuma.

"Hey Princess, I see you're finally awake." He remarked. Ayano bristled with indignation "What do you mean, _finally _awake? Is that how you want to speak to a teammate of yours? You have absolutely no ma-"

"Chill out Princess, no need to bare your claws and teeth. I just came here cuz the old geezer told me to tell you we have a meeting in 5 minutes." Kazuma interrupted.

Just then, Ayano's stomach growled.

Ayano froze. _Crap._

Looking back up at Kazuma, she was annoyed to see a smirk back on his face.

"Woah. That was loud." Kazuma said, trying to keep himself for chuckling.

"GO AWAY AND LET ME CHANGE! I'll go downstairs later!" Ayano yelled in embarrassment, running toward her closet to hide her red face from Kazuma.

Kazuma shrugged, and then walked out of the room.

* * *

After hearing Kazuma's footsteps down the stairs, Ayano let out a breath of relief.

She recollected her thoughts, calmed down her galloping heart, and reapplied lipstick. These simple actions made her feel calm now.

After that, she turned to get dressed. She was just having a meeting with the ol' geezer and Kazuma, so Ayano slid a simple crop on and a pair of vibrant shorts.

Checking her face one more time for the tell-tale blush that came from being around for Kazuma, Ayano hurried down the stairs, and into the living room.

* * *

"Ayano. You have finally arrived." Her father said.

"FINALLY. What were you doing up there? Having a baby?" Kazuma asked, mocking her.

"Ha ha." Ayano snorted sarcastically.

"Children, let's calm down. We need to discuss the new youma in town!" Ayano's father interrupted.

"But father! He's harassing me verbally! Why do I have to be put with such a foul-mouthed partner who doesn't know the least about being nice to girls?"

"Hey!" Kazuma cut in, "I'm nice to girls, but just not you. You should be happy that you have such special treatment!"

"**KIDS**. ABOUT THE YOUMA."

"Oh yes right." Ayano replied, still shooting a dirty look at Kazuma.

"So what do you notice about it?" Ayano's father asked.

"It's really strong. My enraiha alone wasn't able to kill it. Kazuma had to call up the wind god and strike with me at the same time to kill the youma." Ayano answered matter-of-factly.

"Yes. The weird part of it all is the fact that the youma was a 'low-grade' youma. At least its power level was pretty low." Kazuma added on.

Ayano's father frowned. "Are you sure? It might just be a sensing problem."

"Yeah, I can vouch for Kazuma's statement too. I felt a low grade youma, but the youma had the power of a high grade youma." Ayano replied, nodding.

"This is bad. Keep your eyes peeled for these types of new youmas. But today, I also have a mission for you two."

Ayano met Kazuma's eye, and Kazuma pulled a face.

Covering her mouth with a hand, Ayano tried to stifle a giggle.

"What's wrong?" Ayano's father asked.

"Nothing." Kazuma said, smiling knowingly at Ayano.

"Okay then. You two need to go to the library. The really big one three subway stops away. Try to be quiet. It **IS** a library."

At the mention of that particular library, Katsu's face popped into Ayano's mind.

Ayano cringed, wondering where the image even came from. _I hope I don't see him there... That would be awkward! s_he thought.

"Got it. See you later old geezer!" Kazuma said as soon as he got the files needed for the mission.

He then walked swiftly outside with Ayano close on his heels. As soon as he got to the koi pond however, he stopped.

Ayano wore a confused look on her face.

"Here." Kazuma said, stretching out his arms as if to embrace Ayano.

Ayano blushed and looked down. "Wait why?"

"It'll be faster if we fly. C'mon!"

At with those words, Kazuma picked Ayano up at once, securing her into a princess hug.

"Hey, you're actually pretty light!" Kazuma joked, waiting for Ayano to get offended.

Sure enough, she was offended at once.

"PUT ME DOWN! UGH! YOU INSENSITI-" she yelled. Kazuma disobeyed her every word, and brought her even closer into his arms.

As soon as she smelled him, the debate was over.

He smelled wonderful. He was a mix of musky woods and twirls of lemon zest.

Just after that, Ayano realized how warm it was in his arms. It was a soothing warmth, filling her body up with heat, all the way up to her face. She buried her face into his shirt and breathed deeply.

"What do you put on yourself?!" Ayano asked when she came up for a breath of air. Kazuma looked at her quizzically.

"Erm... Clothes?"

"Not! That's not what I mean! I mean like scent. Or cologne."

"I don't wear cologne... Do I even smell like anything?" Kazuma replied, setting their feet back onto the ground smoothly.

"Yeah! You smell gooodddd!" Ayano blurted out, regretting it the second after she said it.

"Oh really?" Kazuma asked, raising an eyebrow at Ayano teasingly.

But Ayano wasn't paying attention to him anymore. She had suddenly realized how much the people around them were staring. They were all lookign at Kazuma, whose laugh and smile made him increasingly prone to female attention.

To be blunt, Kazuma was just too handsome to fit in with the crowd. He always stood out.

Being the normal looking girl next to Kazuma definitely had its faults. Ayano always heard the pretty girls talk about how hot he was, and approaching him too.

It was just so unfair!

"Hullo? Earth to Ayano?" Kazuma asked, snapping his fingers in Ayano's face. But Ayano, who was too preoccupied with what other people were saying about them, didn't respond.

"Hullo? "Kazuma tried again. "We're kinda supposed to be doing a mission you know."

"Yeah yeah I know." Ayano answered absentmindedly.

An awkward silence then hung over them, since neither one one wanted to initicate a new conversation.

Suddenly, a stranger tapped Kazuma on the back, and then pounced on his shoulders.

"Kazuma my man! What are you doing here in this great library?" The blond guy asked excitedly.

"I'n here with her." Kazuma replied, jerking a thumb in Ayano's direction.

As soon as the both of them saw each other, a spark of recognition happened at once.

"You know Katsu?" Ayano asked Kazuma, disbelief across her face.

"You know Kazuma?" Katsu quipped back at her with just as much wonder as she had.

"How did you two even meet?" Kazuma asked them.

"At the library," Katsu said at once. "This library, in fact."

"Yeah. He ambushed me and my friends while we were returning books." Ayano added on, sticking out her tongue at Katsu.

"I didn't ambush your friends, I ambushed you! You seemed so at peace with your book, and I saw someone I could relate with!" Katsu retorted excitedly.

"He's a bookworm" Kazuma explained.

"Oh, I see." Ayano said.

"Well. Wanna come grab lunch with me?" Katsu suggested soon after.

"Katsu, we have to get some stuff done. Old geezer's demands, you know."

"Kazuma's right. Maybe next time!"

"Is that a promise?" Katsu asked, glaring at both of them.

"Uhm... Sure?" Ayano replied, trying to shake him off.

"It's a promise!"

Katsu then gathered up his books and left the library with a smile.

* * *

Preview of_** Chapter Four: Meetup**_

"Where the hell is the Blue Bayou?" Ayano asked.

"Didn't you think to check the address of the place we're supposed to meet Katsu at _before_ we left?"

"Well why didn't _you_ check?" Ayano complained again, adjusting her fedora.

* * *

Another cliffhanger to be updated next weekend(! right?!)

Chapter Three: Uncanny completed. 12:30AM, 3/16/13

**Responses**** to Reviews:**

**RanmaAndAkane4Love**- Thank you for the compliment! It's actually not that well written... Not up to the standards of the people I enjoy reading from on Fanfiction yet! xD **SuzieCat**- Thank you! And here's the next one! **animecrazylover4ever**- Don't worry I didn't disappear! **LegacyofBlood**- Cool username xD Remindes me of League. Anyhow. I tried not to make them too OOC? But maybe they are a bit? xD **slightlyroxy**- Wait for it! Don't worry. The Kazuma and Ayano love will be plenty!** Kendrix D. Brandon**- Thank you! Glad so see my sneak previews are working heeheeee~ **blueskittlez**- More updates for people like you! -yeyyyy!-


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